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The Elvo Valley
A garden of rhododendrons, a sanctuary conceived as a Palestine, and a Passion Play documented since 1816.
Graglia from the Alpe Amburnero; in the foreground, the sanctuary of the Madonna di Loreto. · Photo: F Ceragioli · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Chapter 1 of 3
The Burcina garden
The Elvo Valley is the far west of the Biellese, along the stream that gives it its name; it borders the Turin area and the Aosta Valley. At Pollone stands the Burcina: a garden begun in the mid-nineteenth century by Giovanni Piacenza and expanded by his son Felice over almost fifty years. Today it is a 57-hectare nature reserve, and its rhododendron valley, with more than a thousand plants, flowers between May and June.
Chapter 2 of 3
A hundred imagined chapels
In the Elvo Valley some buildings also tell the story of an idea left unfinished. At Graglia, in 1615, the parish priest don Velotti published in Milan the plan for a Sacro Monte of one hundred chapels, the “Palestine in Piedmont”, between Graglia and the San Carlo hill. When he died in 1624, about ten were standing. The story took a different direction: the chapel of the Santa Casa became the heart of the sanctuary, whose first stone was laid in 1659. A building can keep the memory of what was hoped for, as well as of what was built.
Chapter 3 of 3
A Passion handed down
In Sordevolo, continuity has found its expression in popular theatre. The Passion Play is handed down as a collective commitment: besides those who perform, its memory holds the work of costumes, sets and organisation. The first documented date is 1816, and in 2015 the Passion celebrated its two hundredth anniversary; the year of the first performance is not known and the roots are probably older. The next edition, the twenty-ninth, takes place in the summer of 2027, from 19 June to 26 September.
The towns
Camburzano, Donato, Graglia, Mongrando, Muzzano, Netro, Occhieppo Inferiore, Occhieppo Superiore, Pollone, Sordevolo
The Unione Montana Valle Elvo also includes Magnano, Sala Biellese, Torrazzo, Zimone and Zubiena, which are covered here with the Serra.
The market
The market in figures
| Where | Minimum–maximum (€/m²) | Minimum–maximum (€/m²) |
|---|---|---|
| Occhieppo SuperioreCastellazzo · OMI R1 | 640–930 | |
| Pollonecentro urbano · OMI B1 | 570–800 | |
| Sordevolocentro urbano · OMI B1 | 430–630 | |
| Gragliacentro storico · OMI B1 | 390–580 | |
| Muzzanocentro urbano · OMI B1 | 320–480 |
Sources
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